Vietnamese Lemongrass Rub for Grilled Lamb, Chicken, and Seafood

This recipe for Vietnamese Lemongrass Rub creates a wet rub — any seasoning mix that incorporates a little oil to form a paste. The lemongrass offers a nice summery flavor that pairs especially well with lamb. You can use this grilling rub with seafood or chicken, too.

Vietnamese Lemongrass Rub
Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: None.

Yield: 4 servings

3 fresh lemongrass stalks, root end trimmed and 1 or 2 outer leaves discarded from each stalk

2 shallots, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 teaspoons freshly chopped and peeled ginger

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lime

1-1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons fish sauce (optional)

5 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil

1. Thinly slice bottom 6 inches of the lemongrass, discarding the remainder.

2. Puree lemongrass, shallots, garlic, ginger, lemon zest, lime juice, sugar, salt, cayenne, water, and fish sauce in a food processor, scraping down the sides occasionally, until as smooth as possible, about 2 minutes.

3. To finish the rub, slowly drizzle the peanut oil or vegetable oil into the rub mixture while the food processor is on. Continue processing until oil is incorporated. Store in a glass container and refrigerate until ready for use.

Use the wet rub just like you would a marinade: Marinate in a glass or stainless steel bowl (or use a zippered plastic bag). Cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit on the meat in the refrigerator to absorb the flavors. Turn the meat once in a while to distribute flavor evenly. Blot off the wet rub before you cook.

You can find lemongrass in the produce sections of most grocery stores. It's a perennial grass that has an extremely tough texture but a very fresh and light lemon flavor that is used a lot in Thai and Vietnamese cooking. Look for firm stalks that are pale yellow or white at the bottom and green elsewhere. Leave browned stalks of lemongrass in the store. If you're having trouble finding lemongrass, try an Asian market.

An important factor is the size of the meat you're marinating:


Small pieces of meat, like shrimp or boneless chicken breasts, grab flavors in about an hour.
Give steaks and chops at least three hours and as many as six hours.
Veggies do well with a couple hours' marinating time.
Whole chickens, pork loins, rack of lamb, or other big pieces of meat need at least 5 hours and as many as 14 hours in the marinade.
If you're marinating something as big as a pork shoulder or brisket, allow about a day.

Marinating is an art that requires trial and error. But remember that when you use strong flavors, the meat generally need less time to marinate